A tiny little introduction to the (white) American Exeperience and the Music of Lana Del Rey.

Today at Beyond the Underground, 

 The (white) American Experience and the Music of Lana Del Rey

One of my favorite things about her stuff is the very clever (blink and you’ll miss it clever. Subtle is best.) way she speaks quite self-disparagingly but in this completely meta way.   Great example – from Gods and Monsters

 In the land of Gods and Monsters

I was an angel
Looking to get fucked hard
Like a groupie incognito, posing as a real singer
Life imitates art


She is like the Tyler Durden of white chick music.  She speaks to the worst parts of our nature.  She talks about things we feel but do not speak of, Wants Suppressed.  This will get me shot but her music, at times, is like you went to the Cozmik Bartender and said “Hey, lover pour me a glass of your finest Sylvia Plath,  light on the madness.”   Not in terms of quality or depth but speaking purely in terms of it’s pure confessional quality.
I'm pretty sure Del Rey is that weird girl (not me, the other one)  that always turns up at your Plath society meetings, scribbling furiously but never speaking. Everywhere, all the time, that’s her. 

But here in America, elevating trash to art form is something we do so much, that well, we’ve kind of made an actual art out of it.  Popular culture is world culture but Pop culture is 'Merica.   We’re Team Trainwreck[1].  Stop fighting it, accept.

Read the whole thing at Beyond the Underground





[1] Got my little red party dress on Everybody knows that I'm the best I'm crazy Get a little bit of Bourbon in 'ya Get a little bit suburban And go crazy – cruel world

Comments

Post a Comment

Well trod garden paths

Capsule Review - Trans Dimensional Beings

 I loved this album - I did not intend to listen to it in it's entirety at first sitting but it sucked my perceptions in, and did so in the best way almost immediately.   To me it is very centering and oddly calming. Like a controlled factory reset for the brain, about 11 or 12 times consecutively.   This is a unique and highly experimental sound and I dig it a great deal.   It's wonderful.  Trans Dimensional Beings on Soundcloud
Read more

That rarest of things here, a link post - The Shame of Discussing Childhood Abuse for Queer People and Sex Workers

Please give this article a solid read.  The blog is a recent discovery and I have been reading it voraciously there is tremendous insight to be found here. (But then, if people listened to us, and valued our (authentic) voices over 'the familiar,' I think the world would not be in the situation it is today Content and Trigger Warnings for homophobia, transphobia, trauma, childhood abuse, shame, sex work, and (especially) our currently active culture of transphobia and anti-trans hatred. "The thing about this sort of propaganda is that even when we know it’s untrue, members of these demographics are still terrified of proving them right. One more individual who has been abused and is gay or trans or a sex worker is not evidence that childhood abuse is the cause, and yet the idea that people will say it is makes us terrified to discuss our own abuse histories openly lest they be used by bigots. This is compounded if our abusers were gay or trans or sex workers themselves, b
Read more

Do you have a story about accessing sexual, reproductive, or gender affirming health care?

Image
  Seeking Storytellers!! Do you have a story to share about accessing healthcare? What is the goal of the project? This project aims to document and disseminate the stories of women and gender diverse people with disabilities who have accessed, or attempted to access, sexual and reproductive healthcare or gender affirming healthcare in the United States. We hope that by sharing this information publicly, we can increase understanding about the barriers that exist and advocate to ensure improved access for all. Who is eligible to participate? People who meet all of the following criteria: Identify as a person with a disability Identify as a woman (cis or trans), a transgender man, nonbinary, and gender diverse Have accessed or attempted to access sexual and reproductive healthcare, such as routine and preventative care, information and care related to sexually transmitted infections [STIs], fertility care, pregnancy care, abortion care, or have acc
Read more